1. Field of the Invention
An article of footwear includes a flexible horizontal insole member formed by molding from a synthetic plastic material, the bottom surface of said insole member containing adjacent the ball of the user's foot a plurality of transversely-extending flex grooves that define therebetween a plurality of generally-parallel transversely-extending longitudinally-spaced flex ribs that impart flexibility to the ball portion of the insole relative to the user's foot. The bottom surface of the insole also contains adjacent the arch portion of the user's foot a longitudinally extending shank slot for receiving a rigid or semi-rigid bowed shank member.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known in the patented prior art to provide articles of footwear that make use of the well known Goodyear welt concept for securing together the upper and midsole components of the article of footwear, as shown, for example by the prior patents to Clements U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,319 (which is assigned to the owner of the instant application), and Bianchini, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,275, among others. In order to increase the flexibility of such footwear and to reduce the weight and cost thereof, various proposals have been set forth in the footwear industry.
The present invention was developed to provide an improved flexible, light-weight insole member that combines the multiple aspects of product design to reduce labor and material costs and production time throughout the Goodyear welt manufacturing process. Utilization of the flexible insole affords to the wearer a more stable and lighter article of footwear, while allowing the manufacturing process to proceed smoother and faster, and while cutting down on inventory needs, as for example, pry-ribs, glue for the ply-ribs, cork or other bottom filler.